Speechless!
by Thalia Kendall
Summary: This could go with the other P/Hr fics I wrote. Percy needs to tell Hermione something important, but things never go exactly as planned...


Hmm, this can probably go with my other Books and Quills ficlets! GO BOOKS AND QUILLS!!! w00t!!  
  
Disclaimers apply. I own nothing.   
  
~*~*~*~  
  
It was one o'clock in the morning, and still, the lights in Percy Weasley's room were on. Percy himself sat at his desk, scribbling furiously on a sheet of parchment. Similar sheets, crumpled into balls, surrounded him on all sides. Obviously, he was working hard on something, although nothing exactly job-related.   
  
Just as he was about to start writing again, a large "BOOM!" sounded from the room next to his, causing his chair to shake and his quill to drop from his fingers. A moment later, a yell of "Fred and George Weasley! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING AT THIS HOUR?!" resounded from the floor below, and simultaneously, his door slammed open and two identical guilty faces popped in.  
  
"Hide us!" George pleaded in an urgent whisper. Percy rolled his eyes, but beckoned them towards his bed. Picking up his wand, he waved it at the twins and muttered, "Concealus". Not a moment too soon, for his door opened again, and Molly Weasley, red hair clashing awfully with pink dressing gown, appeared, slightly out of breath.   
  
"Percy, dear, have you seen Fred and George?" Molly looked around the room for signs of the twins, but the bed was neatly made, the closet was open and contained nothing but robes, and there was no other place to conceal anyone.  
  
"No, mum, I was working." Percy gestured the scattered parchment on his desk.  
  
"I thought you said that you had finished your report for the Ministry before supper tonight." Molly said, confused.   
  
Percy's cheeks reddened a bit. "Er, this is some other work...and...er...I have to finish it before tomorrow evening."  
  
Molly grinned knowingly, "Before Hermione comes over, right? She's such a nice girl, I'm very happy for you, dear." Percy blushed harder. Molly walked up to her (visible) son and patted his head, "Well, I'll just deal with Fred and George in the morning, then. Good night, dear."  
  
"Good night, mum." Percy replied as Molly walked out and shut the door behind her. When her footsteps faded away down the stairs, Percy pointed his wand towards his bed again and whispered, "Finite Incantatum". The twins appeared once more, no longer invisible.  
  
"Thanks, Perce, we owe you one." Fred whispered. Percy rolled his eyes again, but grinned.  
  
"What were you two doing anyway?"  
  
"Er, we were trying to perfect a new type of chess set where the pieces explode when they get taken, but the explosion is too big." George answered hesitantly. Percy nodded slowly.  
  
"You have to add one ounce dried lavender root to every quarter-ounce erumpent fluid to neutralize its effect slightly. That way, it should only give a small pop rather than a huge explosion." Percy coolly told the twins. Fred's eyes bulged.  
  
"YOU are helping US with a PRANK?! Boy, Hermione is a great influence on you." Percy blushed once again, and the twins grinned. George grabbed one of the crumpled sheets of parchment on the desk before Percy could stop him, opened it up, and read it over, dodging Percy's attempts to snatch it away. Fred glanced at it over his twin's shoulder, then chuckled at his now scarlet-faced older brother.  
  
"She'll say yes, as long as you don't say that atrocious speech. Thanks for the help, Perce, good night." Fred, followed by George, quietly left his room. Percy stared at his door for a minute, then turned back to his interrupted 'work'.  
  
~~~  
  
He was sitting outside on the back porch steps, reading. The setting sun glistened on his red hair, as his head was bent over a large book. One hand lifted up to his face, readjusting his glasses. She smiled, then put her arms around him from behind, leaning her face into the crook of his neck. He did not have to ask who it was. Setting down the book with a smile, he turned his face and softly kissed her.   
  
"Ginny said that I would find you here." Hermione whispered softly to him. Walking forward, she sat down on the step in front of his, and leaned back against his chest. Smiling, she looked at the sky, ablaze with crimson and purple and coral and gold in the sunset. "Beautiful." she whispered, looking at the sky.  
  
"Yes, beautiful." his deep voice was slightly muffled as he buried his face in her hair. Hermione blushed slightly. He did not seem to be talking about the sunset. Quietly, the two of them sat together, and watched as the sun dipped below the horizon and the first stars were visible in the darkening sky. Finally, Hermione broke the comfortable silence.  
  
"Fred and George were acting rather peculiarly. When they saw me, they started grinning like something was up. And they were talking about you in awe-filled tones, saying that you were their favorite brother from now on, and thanking me for being a 'good influence'." she giggled, "They also said that you had something to tell me. Did something strange happen recently, that I do not know of? And what is it that you have to tell me?"  
  
Percy flushed, and stiffened. He was not ready! Finally, at about three in the morning, he had perfected The Speech. But now, with her giving him that half-lidded, sideways glance, long, dark eyelashes contrasted with creamy skin, her hair with the fresh scent of spring blossoms against his nose, he could not remember a word of it. Gulping, he stood up, walked in front of her, and knelt at her feet, his mouth suddenly dry.  
  
"Percy?" Her voice was soft and incredulous. He cleared his throat, gulped again, and finally spoke.  
  
"Hermione, I...oh bollocks this isn't coming out right..." Merlin, did someone perform a memory charm on him without his noticing somehow? Not a single word of that carefully planned speech remained in his head! Finally, he gave up, and just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Hermione, I love you. Will you marry me?"  
  
Hermione stared at him. He wouldn't look at her. It seemed that he was indeed very uncertain of what answer she would give him. At that thought, she laughed lightly.  
  
Percy's heart sank when the sound of laughter reached his ears. She was laughing! LAUGHING! Once again, he had made a false judgment. She did not love him. She thought of him as a laughable, ridiculous prat. WHY did he even try? Standing up abruptly, he disapparated.   
  
~~~  
  
The popping sound brought Hermione back to the present at once. Her laughter died on her lips and brown eyes widened. But she was not the top student of her class and an experienced fighter for the light side for nothing. Quickly, she performed a locating spell, and a moment later, she, too, had disapparated.  
  
She could always pinpoint a specific person from a crowd, and when that person was not only the man she loved, but had bright red hair, it made the task even easier. He did not even notice her as she approached, his face focused on the glass before him. That is, until she spun his stool around to face her.  
  
Percy gasped when his stool suddenly turned, and Hermione stood before him. But he recovered in an instant, his face the same blank, impersonal mask of professionalism that it had been before a bushy-haired, intelligent Muggleborn witch had arrived at Hogwarts and had taken it by storm. "Is there something I can help you with, Hermione?" His voice was cool, but his eyes, always so expressive, betrayed what he truly felt inside.  
  
Hermione stepped up to him and took his hands in hers, in a surprisingly strong grip. "You didn't wait to hear my answer, Percy."  
  
He laughed then, a bitter, cynical laugh. "Was your laughter not answer enough?"  
  
"Do you even know WHY I laughed? I laughed because you were so uncertain, as if you believed I could possibly refuse. How could I? Why would I ever do such a thing? Do you think I would willingly ruin my own life?"  
  
Percy inhaled sharply, then, words slowly stumbled out of his mouth, "Then, are you saying..."  
  
"YES, I am saying yes! You have my answer now, Percy. Yes, a thousand times, yes! Now, shut up and kiss me." With that, she threw her arms around his neck, and Percy Weasley, strict, conservative, rule-abiding former Gryffindor Prefect and Head Boy, the one who most disapproved of shenanigans in public, did just that, and ignored the hoots and catcalls within the pub as he held his new fiancee close to him.  
  
Much later, as he sat in his room, an inane smile spread over his face, an amusing thought came to him. 'Fred and George did have a point about that speech after all.' he reflected.  
  
***  
  
Whee!! What do you think? 


End file.
